community groups and they can vouch for the obama chain rather than having a volunteer come into the state from washington, d.c. and knock on the door. the romney campaign to their credit has made great advancements good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" from new york. 13 days until the 2012 election. another wake-up call to republican voters. >> do you believe that if the pregnancy results from rape, that god intended for that pregnancy to take place? >> you know, that's a call above my pay grade. >> mitt romney, paul ryan, and the republicans have a brand-new problem.

his name is richard mourdock. >> this fall, i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate. >> tonight, now president terry o'neill on romney's favorite indiana candidate. >> governor mitt romney's strong showing during the debates has put the obama campaign in full panic mode. the desperate left, they'll say anything to rebound, and once again, they are playing the race card. >> less than two weeks before the election, the crazies are coming out of the woodwork. >> president obama is the least transparent president in the history of this country. >> tonight, michael eric dyson on trump, coulter, and palin's dive off the deep end. >> if the question is what is best for low-income ohioans, shouldn't we let ohioans make that call? >> it's all about the ground game in the buckeye state. larry cohen and james hoffa lay out the game plan to deliver ohio for president obama. >> i don't blame that baby for crying. she just realized what it means if romney gets elected. >> good to have you with us tonight, folks.

thanks for watching. a republican senate candidate out of the state of indiana showed voters, especially women, exactly what is at stake in this election. >> you know, this is that issue that every candidate for federal or even state office faces. and i, too, certainly stand for life. i know there are some who disagree and i respect their point of view, but i believe that life begins at conception. the only exception i have for, to have an abortion, is in that case of the life of the mother. i just, i struggled with it myself for a long time. but i believe life is that gift from god, and even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> richard mourdock is fighting in one of the most hotly contested senate seats in the country. mourdock was compelled to answer reporters' questions today about his comments on rape. >> i believe life is precious. i believe that, to the mirror of my votes.

i am a much more humble person this morning, because so many people mistook, twisted, came to misunderstand the points that i was trying to make. >> mourdoc dock was asked to explain his words. >> do you believe that god intended that rape? >> that's a question above my pay grade. >> out of the mainstream? what do you think? if you're wondering how a loose cannon like mourdock wound up in a pivotal senate race, you can thank the tea party. millions of dollars from the outside established his campaign against dick lugar of some 30 years in the senate. the republican party is facing another tight senate race, just like the one in missouri. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. but let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. you know, i think there should be some punishment, but the

punishment ought to be in the rapist and not attacking the child. >> todd akin's "legitimate rape" comments were just the warning shot. he might as well have said, you know, there's more where that came from. now republicans are forced to defend high-profile candidates with views way outside the mainstream in this country. in fact, 83% of americans believe there should be abortion exceptions in the case of rape and incest. 76% of republicans agree. the most recent comprehensive study of pregnancies resulting from rape show more than 32,000 over the course of a year. no one is telling richard mourdock or any other candidate what they can or cannot personally believe, but even the republican nominee, mitt romney, has given murdoch thumbs up and says murdoch will legislate on major health care initiatives. mitt romney filmed a television ad for mourdock. it was released on monday. >> this fall, i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate. as senator, richard will be the 51st vote to repeal and replace government-run health care. richard will help stop the

liberal reid/pelosi agenda. with so much at stake, i hope you'll join me in supporting richard mourdock for u.s. senate. >> in light of mourdock's comments, the romney camp says governor romney disagrees with mr. mourdock and mr. mourdock's comments do not reflect governor romney's views. we disagree on the process for regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him. >> this is a man who i want to see in washington to make sure that we cannot just talk about changing things, but actually have the votes to get things changed. >> even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> we've got to get this guy elected in the u.s. senate. >> it is something that god intended to happen. >> with so much at stake, i hope you'll join me in supporting richard mourdock for u.s. senate. >> for the record, mourdock is

not an exception to the rule for the romney campaign. romney's running mate, paul ryan, co-sponsored legislation to change the definition of rape in abortion cases. the republican national convention included language in the party platform, identical to mourdock's definition. we support a human life amendment to the constitution and endorse legislation to make sure that the 14th's amendments protections apply to unborn children. there's also romney's own words. in an op-ed called "my pro-life pledge," romney called roe versus wade bad law and bad medicine and a misguided ruling. romney told mike huckabee he wants the ruling overturned and wants the constitution changed. >> would you have supported the constitutional amendment that would have established the definition of life at conception? >> absolutely. >> take the republican party at its word. they say they will legislate their morality and their faith on the american people, if they have the chance. i think you ought to believe them.

compare this with the position articulated by the vice president of the united states, joe biden, during his recent debate with paul ryan. >> my religion defines who i am. and i've been a practicing catholic my whole life. and it has particularly informed my social doctrine. i accept my church's position on abortion is as what we call defeat doctrine. life begins at conception. that's the church's judgment. i accept it in my personal life. but i refuse to impose it on equally devout christians and muslims and jews, and i just refuse to impose that on others. >> elections have consequences. i hope people who care about women's rights in this country realize how stunning the consequences of a 2012 election -- what they really are, if this crowd gets elected. now, keep in mind, there's a big discussion in america about whether there's a war on women. fox news says there isn't. what does it mean when the

majority of the people in this country don't see it their way? what do you call that? the mainstream? i think not. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, does richard mourdock speak for the republican party? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no to 622639. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. i'm joined tonight by terry o'neill, president of the national organization for women. terry, great to have you with us tonight. 13 days out from the election. this is a blockbuster story for women in this country and women's rights. does this elevate the conversation at a very important time for women? >> yeah, ed, i think that it makes very, very clear to women where mitt romney and his soul mates, paul ryan, todd akin, richard mourdock, actually stand on women's rights. look, we put out a statement saying that richard mourdock is mitt romney unmasked. and what we mean by that is mitt

romney, when the cameras were not on him, back when he was a lay bishop in the mormon church, he actually pressured a woman whose blood clots were making her pregnancy life threatening to her, what he said to her was this -- why should you get off so easy? other women don't get off that easy. and he wanted her to continue the pregnancy, even though it was threatening her life. her parents were frantic. her father actually threw romney out of the house and said, don't you ever come back and talk to my daughter that way. they actually cared about women's lives, that woman's life, in a way that mitt romney doesn't even conceive of caring for women's lives. so let's be very clear. richard mourdock told the truth about what the republican party now wants to do to women. it is a terrible shame for the republican party. the republican party used to be run by people who were responsible. i didn't agree with them much of the time, but right now what we have is a radical fringe in control of the republican party

and the policies. and mitt romney is right in the thick and the middle of that fringe. and very unpopular with the american people. >> so your message to women tonight, across the country, who may be undecided, is that this could be a benchmark election when it comes to women's rights, and you are convinced, i don't want to put words in your mouth, that this crowd, if they have the power, they will overturn roe v. wade? >> there's no question in my mind, ed. i think that's absolutely right. they will do everything they can to overturn roe versus wade. mitt romney does -- will support personhood amendments that criminalizes all abortion, in all cases. look, i think you mentioned earlier, over 32,000 pregnancies in the united states every year result from rape. another statistic that a lot of people don't know is that 31 states actually still give rapists father's rights. so access to the child, that was a product of rape, and therefore access to the rape survivor. we are working very hard to

change these state level laws, but they do exist. and so this makes it all the more important that rape survivors have complete control over their own futures, over that pregnancy, to prevent the pregnancy, they need ec, emergency contraception, and if a woman becomes pregnant through rape, she must have the absolute decision making power as to whether to continue that pregnancy or not. it cannot be up to men like richard mourdock and paul ryan. >> do you think this will affect women? the clock is ticking. less than two weeks. can it have an effect on the election? >> i think it can. and i think what's a real problem is that women voters and many other people, i think opinion leaders, have a very hard time wrapping their brain around the reality of the danger to women that is posed by these men. i don't blame them for having a hard time wrapping their brains around this. this is way outside the norm.

it is something that you want to say, that can't possibly be true. the sad reality, it is all too true. and these men are that close to taking power and to imposing the most draconian, truly misogynistic, truly women-hating policies on this country. and you know, my organization and women's organizations all around the country we're partnering with, we're doing everything we can to defeat these men. and i think we will. but it is hard for people to really, really grasp how dire this threat is. >> well, they're crystal clear on where they stand on the issues, no doubt. terry o'neill, thank you for joining us tonight on "the ed show." remember to answer tonight's question there at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on twitter and @edshow and on facebook. we always want to know what you think and get your comments. coming up, when is enough enough? will richard mourdock's comments be a real wake-up call to republican moderates?

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coming up, the gop's extreme views on abortion are now out in the open and it's a wake-up call for women voters. will it matter? will it affect the election? susan del percio and krystal ball join me next. then the right-wing rhetoric turns ugly. michael eric dyson will weigh in on sarah palin and ann coulter's comments and donald trump's latest stunt. and bain capital, this is a story we covered last friday, it has intensified. bain capital plans to close the sensata plant ahead of schedule if workers continue protesting the company's outsourcing plans. we'll have the latest from freeport, illinois. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using #edshow.

welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for watching tonight. well, republicans say that there is no war on women, yet every time they open their mouths on abortion, on health care, on pay equity, they prove that they don't have women's best interests in mind. indiana senate candidate richard mourdock's remarks on rape should be a real wake-up call to women. his comments should also be a real wake-up call to republican moderates, if there's any left. right-wing extremists have taken over the party. mitt romney says he supports abortion in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. his running mate says he supports romney's views, but paul ryan's record tells us differently. he introduced the term "forcible rape" in congressional legislation. as a young congressman, ryan attacked legislation that allowed an exception to save a woman's life. >> the health exception is a loophole wide enough to drive a

mac truck through it. the health exception would render this ban virtually meaningless. >> ryan's pac gave mourdock's campaign a $5,000 boost during this election cycle. so far, romney and ryan are ignoring the mourdock controversy. but some republicans are running away from mourdock. senator scott brown of massachusetts is disavowing mourdock's comments. senator kelly ayotte of new hampshire canceled, canceled plans to campaign with mourdock just today. yet the gop leadership, well, they continue to embrace mourdock and his controversial stance. chairman of the national republican senatorial committee, john cornyn, called the outrage over mourdock's comments "irresponsible and ridiculous." while senate minority leader mitch mcconnell blamed democrats. we're at the end of an election season here, and i understand each side is looking to make hay out of every comment, but sharing the views of millions of americans that life begins at conception is richard's deeply held personal belief that shouldn't be misconstrued by partisans to imply something it

does not. that's at the heart of the issue. let's bring in krystal ball, cohost of "the cycle," and susan del percio, strategist and msnbc contributor. great to have both of you with us here tonight. mitch mcconnell's comment cuts to the heart of it here. republicans, do they want to legislate their personal beliefs on the american people, no matter where the majority of people stand? susan, you're somewhat of a moderate on this issue. will this make a difference, if they push this issue? >> it absolutely will. there has to be room for different opinions within the republican party on this issue. there's no doubt about it. you have to allow for that. look at scott brown. he happens to be pro-choice. we heard from christie todd whitman saying the life of the republican party is on the line if we don't start expanding it to include. and we did see leadership like kelly ayotte take a stand and decide not to campaign.

but it is also -- listening to your introduction, it is also worth noting that the person running against mourdock is also pro-life, who signed on to the forcible rape amendment as well. so while it's, yes, mostly a problem for the republicans -- >> but that's not the position of the party. >> no, i understand. >> and that's a big difference. and i think the difference here is that here you have mitch mcconnell and john cornyn, who are really in the leadership positions, are saying that, yes, we want this man in the senate and they're standing behind im. >> i'm just saying that we did -- it did come up in your introduction, and there are people within the democratic party who have certain beliefs as well that would be deemed conservative and somewhat extreme, even by their own part. >> but they want to overturn roe v. wade. they're on the record saying that. the democratic party does not want to do that. krystal, where does this take the election? >> i think that's absolutely right.

and this reminds voters too, that romney may well have, if he is president, one or two supreme court nominations. and there is no question that he would nominate supreme court justices who were opposed to roe v. wade. and that could very well spell the end of roe v. wade. you see how deeply uncomfortable women are with how far to the right the republican party has moved on this. it is not just richard mourdock here. he is not an outlier. their platform is no abortions, no exceptions, including rape and health of the mother. so they have totally gone off the rails with this issue. and it's already damaged them electorally. >> what's it do to suburban women? >> well, i think it really makes them uncomfortable. and frankly, between that and the hardline stance on immigration, i think those are the two things that are really keeping romney from actually being in a position to win this race. because women, they may feel like the economy isn't where they want it to be, they may feel like they'd maybe like to try something different, but they're so uncomfortable with the extremism on this issue. >> susan, how can this be a winner for the republicans at

this point? 13 days out, this is a story that mitt romney didn't need. >> it's horrible! it's not a winner at all. it's a horrible situation for the republican party right now. both at the presidential level and down ballot races. there's no doubt about it. that's why you saw scott brown come out so quickly saying, you know, mourdock's comments were appalling. so this is not what republicans wanted right now, by a long shot. >> so, is this going to really affect ohio? i mean, ohio, as the whole map breaks down, how is this going to play out? and could it turn a state or a swing state really against mitt romney? >> it depends on how you look at the numbers. if you believe that the gap is an eight-point gap with romney and the president, which i think it's probably greater, it's probably in the double digits, will it be the final straw? i don't think so. i don't think that's what's going to cause the election to turn towards obama. >> pretty damaging tape there, that mitt romney is standing up emphatically, supporting mourdock. in fact, he is the only senate candidate that romney has done that.

a self-inflicted wound? how does he -- and they can't back away from it. they're caught. >> that's right. they're caught. it's the only senate candidate that mitt romney has cut an ad for, so he is on tape saying, vote for richard mourdock. it's a major problem. and i've lived in both ohio and virginia, and i actually think more of virginia, where the polls are as tight as they can be right now. i think suburban, northern virginia women are going to be reminded of todd akin, reminded of the supreme court nominees, and very comfortable. >> so susan, doesn't this play into the hands of the obama campaign? because all along, they have said that this is an election about choice. you know, priority -- i mean, i'm serious. where do you stand on taxes, where do you stand on health care? and here, ironically, we're talking about just that in almost the 11th hour. >> this is a self-inflicted wound. make no mistake about it. it wasn't that the obama campaign played it so well. i mean, this has become a national story that is going tor hurt republicans. there's no doubt about it. >> okay, krystal ball, susan del percio, great to have to have

you with us tonight. thanks so much. >> thanks, ed. the race card in this election is unfortunately alive and well. michael eric dyson will join me. and find out why cars are becoming so critical in the final stretch to the white house. we're right back. [ male announcer ] the 2013 smart comes with 8 airbags, a crash management system and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety.

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he's, uh, he's an arab. he is not -- >> no, ma'am. no, ma'am. >> no? >> no, ma'am. no, ma'am. he's a -- he's a decent family

man, citizen, that i just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. and that's what this campaign is all about. he's not. thank you. >> and we are back here on "the ed show" tonight. that was senator john mccain in 2008, responding to a supporter who said barack obama was an arab. since then, we've suffered through four years of people trying to paint president obama as "the other." and it has sometimes come from republican office holders or tea partyers. and much of it is racist. whether you like it or not, it is. with two weeks until the election, here's the latest run. sarah palin offered an opinion about the benghazi embassy attack. in a facebook post, she said, "obama's shuck and jive ends with benghazi lives." and ann coulter reacted to the third presidential debate tweeting, "i highly approve of romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard."

coulter didn't back down. she used obama's joke about romnesia as an excuse to do it again. she tweeted, "obama, stage 3 romnesia, because cancer references are hilarious. if he's the smartest guy in the room, it must be one of the retarded room." then there's birther in chief, donald trump, who has been appropriating his big game-changing announcement for days. trump's big announcement was an offer to give $5 million to president obama's favorite charity if the president would release all of his college and passport records. the announcement was so lame, an online gambling firm refunded $500 in bets. donald trump has recently appeared at two more fund-raisers for the romney campaign. let's turn to msnbc political analyst, michael eric dyson, professor of sociology at georgetown university. professor, good to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. >> referring to the president, using the term "shuck and jive," break it down for us.

what is it? >> well, you know, back in the days of slavery, when slaves were shucking corn, they were also engaging in certain forms of hilarity, frivolity, laying, exaggeration, and teasing. >> to keep their attitudes good. >> to keep their attitudes good, to keep them from killing the people who were oppressing them. so they were shucking corn and jiving, having fun. this is an unmistakable racial reference. and plus, notice the rhyme scheme of miss palin as well. so she's not only shucking and jiving, benghazi lies, shuck and jive. so now she's trying to have a rhyme scheme that really is a direct assault upon barack obama as a black man. >> ann coulter, obviously, offended special needs people with her tweets, but is there more to it when she applies it to an african-american president? particularly in a campaign season where john sununu has called president obama "lazy." >> right. and that's a very careful distinction you made there. you know, on its face, of course it isn't. but in the context -- and i'm

very surprised that ann coulter, even though i disagree with her vigorously, she and i have had many conversations with her intelligence and her point of view have been presented and she hasn't descended into this valley of name calling. but this is ridiculous. we can't help but see a racial element here, because, again, it's about his intelligence. african-american intelligence, suspect. this is the era of the bell curve, not 15, 20 years ago. so the suspicion about black intelligence prevails. to call barack obama a retard in the context of john sununu's statements is to continue a trajectory of questioning black intelligence. >> questioning black intelligence? that's how you take that? >> oh, well, obviously it's an assault upon black intelligence. when you say "retard," first of all, you've insulted the special needs family. and then beyond that, what you should have tried to imply is that barack obama lacks the mental skills and the capacities the to exercise his job. it's an insult in a double way. >> back to the shuck and jive, do you think sarah palin knew the reference and the historical perspective that you just put on it?

>> absolutely not. what she understand -- she understood the racial signify indication. >> what about donald trump. he says if barack obama releases his college records, it will end the anger of many americans. is he race baiting by saying that? >> absolutely. again, this is a question about black intelligence, also black performance, and it's the implication of affirmative action here. this guy got a handout he didn't deserve to get into harvard, he didn't deserve to get into columbia, we don't trust him, don't believe him, so we need more records to show that he did as well as his teachers said he did. and of course being the editor of the harvard law review doesn't suffice for mr. trump. it's just ridiculous. >> but there's a relationship here between the higher-ups in the republican party, even the nominee, and these visible republicans who are going around saying and doing this kind of stuff. in fact, trump just recently held fund-raisers for romney,

and then he comes up with this nonsense. >> oh, of course. if you're being silent and you're not saying about donald trump and these other people, look, they're wrong, they don't represent our views, these are reprehensible expressions of an intolerable racial viewpoint that we find outmoted, but you haven't heard that. you've heard silence. >> does this motivate their base to get out and vote? >> well, what you've done consistently on this show, you've shown that they've tried to portray barack obama as the other. this is the last-ditch effort to show that he is the ultimate un-american, therefore, we've got to put him out of office. >> michael eric dyson, great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay with us. i'm a son of detroit. i was born in detroit. my dad was head of a car company. i like american cars. >> mitt romney really loves cars. next, i'll show you how mitt romney might have personally profited from the auto loan rescue. in wisconsin, tammy baldwin releases a new commercial, hammering tommy thompson for profiting off 9/11.

and american workers who are about to have their jobs shipped to china are fighting for free speech tonight. leo gehrard with the latest on mitt romney's dark vision for america.

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let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. my dad was head of a car company. i like american cars. and i would do nothing to hurt the u.s. auto industry. >> well, we'll see about that. welcome back to "the ed show." one thing is becoming crystal clear in this election. the candidate who wins ohio will probably win the election. now, if you want to win ohio, you need to prove yourself on the side of the automobile industry. 850,000 jobs depend on the automobile industry in ohio. in fact, one out of every eight jobs in the state is linked to the automobile industry in some way, but cars are becoming a real problem for mitt romney. during monday night's debate, romney claimed he never opposed

the automobile rescue, but he did. in 2008, he wrote an op-ed of "the new york times," saying that the government should let detroit go bankrupt. romney now insists he wanted a managed bankruptcy. instead, by the way, romney's not talking about the automobile industry on the campaign trail lately, but president obama is. >> if you sit on stage in a nationally televised debate, saying how much you love cars. you're a car guy, except you wrote an article titled, "let detroit go bankrupt," then you almost certainly have romnesia. >> romney not only opposed the policy which saved the automobile industry and more than a million jobs, he actually -- listen to this, folks -- profited off of it. that's right. "the nation" magazine reports that romney, he had invested in delphi. it's a major supplier of general

motors. and it was in serious financial trouble back in 2009. delphi ended up getting, what? billions of taxpayer dollars to get out of debt. it cut pensions for salaried workers and gutted their health care. it shut down 25 plants in the united states and shipped the jobs overseas. and in the end, romney reportedly earned at least $15 million for the delphi deal. now romney is trying to convince workers in ohio that, you know what, he's got your back, he's all about the middle class. four new polls have come out in the last few days. and tonight, president obama has a two-point lead. romney might be having car trouble. joining us tonight here on "the ed show," i'm joined by james hoffa, president of the international brotherhood of teamsters, also with me continue, mr. cohen. mr. hoffa, if romney in his personal life the kind of president he would be? is he a threat to jobs? >> he is a threat to jobs, because he actually believes this stuff. he actually believes tax cuts for the rich would help to rebuild the economy. he actually believes we should

get rid of the minimum wage and get rid of unions. he actually thinks that workers are the problem. he went to china and said, that's what we need, baseball cooley labor. he would implement this national right to work to all these kind of things. he's a threat. he goes on there and he's trying to backpedal about this thing about the cars. he came to detroit and said, i love cars. i've got two cadillacs. that didn't play very well. and in detroit, with the auto capital where i'm from, he comes in and says, you know he basically tries to back away from this idea that he said, let detroit go bankrupt. that didn't sell too well in detroit. >> i brought that subject up today on my radio show with bob king, who's the head of the unite auto workers, and asked him if it's correct, that mitt romney had the solution for the car industry. >> all the unions have got a great ground effort. there's all kinds of phone banking going on, there's door

knocking going on. there's rallies at workplaces. everybody really stressing, how tremendously important it is that people get out and vote early, people make sure they vote. >> and of course, bob king was telling us that there's no doubt that mitt romney had nothing to do with the automobile recovery and he did not have the correct model for it. as for the ground game, mr. cohen, how intense is it in ohio? >> it's intense. between the sherrod brown campaign and the obama campaign, 5,000 volunteers, not just knocking on doors and phone banks, but at work, folks on break rooms, talking up this selection. three years ago, ohio had 10% unemployment. now it's 7%. between the auto, the auto bailout work that the president supported and sherrod brown supported and the attacks on jobs moving to china, there is rising employment in ohio. s this related to the car industry.

but everybody, whether they're in telecom or manufacturing, understand that difference between going backwards into fairy tale capitalism, as you just described it, and jim did, from the 19th century, with everything deregulated, and workers just become another unite of production, or going forward in this 21st century, where we need partnerships between working americans and government and management, to figure out how we keep and build jobs in america and build plants in america, and invest in america, so that we can bring back a higher standard of living. and that's what's going on in ohio today. >> and that simply is not mitt romney's economic model. mr. hoffa, when you look at this, how can you lose ohio? i mean, how can this message not get to lunch bucket democrats who are going to make a big difference in that state? >> well, we're making sure it's delivered. all of labor is crisscrossing ohio. i've had rallies, other unions have had rallies -- >> what are they saying on the ground? >> basically they're out, all out there saying they're for obama, we've got to make sure we

get people to the polls, we're using early voting, which is a great thing in ohio. we're getting more and more people, at least one third or half the people have already voted. i go to rallies and i say, raise your hand if you've already voted. half the people raised their hands. that's a good sign. and they're also out there because they realize that he's a threat to their livelihood. he's a threat to their unions that are basically the things that are saving them right now and putting them in the middle class. >> mr. cohen, are you concerned about the integrity of the vote? we know that there have been shenanigans in the past in ohio. you've got boots on the ground. how important is it from that standpoint, paying attention to the integrity of the vote? >> all of the volunteers as of election day, thousands will shift to that. and obviously, the other side has constantly tried to suppress voting in ohio, by passing laws, et cetera. but, again, i think the enthusiasm will overcome the cynicism and the thousands of volunteers will overcome the $50,000 that mandell is spending alone and we will see. sherrod brown, barack obama win on election day by significant margins in ohio because working

americans won't be fooled, know the difference. nobody's going to keep them from voting, and those votes will count. every vote will count. we need that enthusiasm going into election day. >> all right. james hoffa and larry cohen, great to have you with us on "the ed show" tonight. thanks so much. coming up, 9/11 takes center stage in the senate race in wisconsin. i've got the latest ad in the ugly battle between congressman tammy baldwin and former republican governor, tommy thompson. stay with us. [ male announcer ] introducing zzzquil sleep-aid. it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing. ♪ zzzquil, the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil. sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right?

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welcome back to "the ed show." now, the wisconsin senate race is one of the most expensive in the state's history. it is the most expensive, excuse me. and it's probably the ugliest as well. last night, i refused to air the deciding attack ad put out by the former republican governor, tommy thompson. it's pretty gross, which accuses congresswoman tammy baldwin of voting against honoring the victims of 9/11. today, the baldwin campaign fired back with its own ad. and i want you to see this one. here it is. >> tommy thompson's ad is a disgrace. the truth. time and again, tammy baldwin has supported honoring victims of 9/11 and tommy thompson, he got a government contract to

provide health care to 9/11 first responders. but tommy took advantage, leaving them without the care they were promised. tommy thompson personally made over $3 million off the deal. tommy thompson should be ashamed. >> let's break it down. tommy thompson served as the health and human services secretary under george w. bush from 2001 to 2005. so it raised a few eyebrows when in june of 2008, thompson's company, logistics health incorporated, won an $11 million contract from the federal government to treat 9/11 responders living outside the new york area. the company was criticized for its handling of the contract, with some patients complaining it took months to receive care. despite all that, thompson did eventually profit. thompson's financial disclosure shows that he made over $3 million in the sale of logistics health. profiting and politicizing, a perfect example of bush cronyism.

and thompson had the nerve to claim tammy baldwin doesn't support victims of 9/11? today baldwin sat down with the "milwaukee journal sentinel" and had a chance to respond. >> you know, i was in washington on 9/11 and i joined my colleagues on the steps of the capitol that night, bipartisan basis, holding hands and singing "god bless america." and the idea that anybody would question my commitment to going after the terrorists, honoring the victims and their families, supporting the first responders is outrageous. >> and of course, the great thing about all of this is that you, the voter, get to be the judge. people of wisconsin, be sure to vote. the race is in your hands. tonight in our survey, i asked, does richard mourdock speak for the republican party? 97% of you say yes, 3% of you say no. coming up, an unbelievable

story. executives at bain capital. they are not happy with the protests at bainport. you won't believe what they're doing to try to silence these workers. leo gehrard of the steelworkers will tell us when we come back.

and in the big finish tonight, the situation is reaching fever pitch at the sensata factory in freeport, illinois. not only is bain capital

shipping these jobs to china, now they're trying to crush the workers' first amendment rights, their voice. bain capital is threatening to close the plant immediately if workers continue to protest their jobs being outsourced. right now, the plant is slated to be closed in december. top bain capital executives came to freeport themselves on tuesday and made the threat to the mayor of the city. they didn't have the guts to tell the workers to their face. when workers were informed of the threat, they immediately filed charges against sensata with the national labor relations board. the filing accuses the company of illegally punishing employees engaged in legal protests. the threats from bain capital have only strengthened the workers. bainport is still up and running at this hour. and earlier today, 14 protesters including the reverend jesse jackson were arrested at the sensata factory for demanding

just to meet with management. it's important to remember, mitt romney's role in all of this. and what would happen if the country is directed by this man, mitt romney. mitt romney created bain capital and the model it uses today. he believes in outsourcing and he's done nothing to help the workers of freeport. romney also has $8 million worth of bain funds, so when bain profits off of outsourcing, so does mitt romney. meanwhile, sensata has released their third quarter financial statement. not the second. now the third quarter statement is out. we told you about the second quarter on friday night. now the third quarter shows they're doing just fine. sensata made more than $470 million in net revenue during the third quarter of this year, 2012. unfortunately, this number isn't good enough for the vultures over at bain capital. they're still shipping the sensata jobs to china, to the folks who will make maybe about $1 an hour. joining me tonight is leo

gehrard, president of the united steelworkers international. mr. gehrard, good to have you with us tonight. the threats that are being made by the management of the bain, they actually came from the east coast and went to freeport, illinois, and met with the mayor and the police department and told them, this is the law of the land, is the way we see it. is this crossing the line? >> it absolutely is crossing the line. but let's not remember -- let's not forget, this isn't the bain model. this is the mitt romney model, to try to bully people, to put your hand up and say, let me finish, to try to have their own way. the bunch of people who got arrested today, some of them are our members, one of them is our retiree, who wanted to go in to meet with the company and say, what can you do to save our jobs? instead they got arrested. the company has made the threat they're going to close the plant instantly if that happens. so far they haven't done it, which also looks like mitt romney, say one thing, do another. the reality is, ed, mitt romney is making all kinds of money off

of government support in delphi, as you said earlier, and moving workers to other plants. we're talking about now about sensata, as we should, but let's not forget he has ten other investments. and i want to make one other point. when he was running against ted kennedy back in the '90s, he said, oh, the blind trust, that's still a ruse. you can still direct your blind trust to do whatever you want it to do. so i'm challenging mitt romney to tell his blind trust not to move that plant to china. i'm challenging mitt romney to tell his blind trust to not make any other investments in china. prove that you care about american workers and make your blind trust invest in america. and i don't think he'll do that. >> is there a moral component here? a company that makes $470 million net profit in a quarter, still feels compelled to take the jobs out of an american community and put them in china? >> absolutely, there's a moral component. when they're showing that the ultimate greed. they're showing, again, this is the bain model. this is the mitt romney model. when he says he's a job creator, he's not.

he's been a wealth manipulator. he's made all kinds of wealth by destroying jobs and moving jobs offshore. i have to remind you he started a company with his own money in 1998 in china, learned how to run that company in china for three years, and then he came back and bain capital consulted, explaining to other companies how to move their plants to china. the guy is a hypocrite. >> and mr. gehrard, what do we know about the severance packages for the workers in freeport, illinois. >> right now, the severance packages, quite frankly, are meager. they're not going to take care of people's health care. they're going to lose their jobs. mitt romney doesn't give a darn that if you lose your job, you lose your health care. he says he also opposes obama care. well, if they had obama care, they would be able to get health care. some of them will lose their jobs, lose their jobs, lose their health care, some of their kids won't go to college, and he doesn't give a darn. the reality is, this is pure and simple greed. mitt romney has $8 million invested in this and sensata is